Prospective Second Learning Center in the Colorado Plateau-Four Corners Region of Boulder, Utah
The Bellows Foundation is providing initial funding for the research and development of a second Learning Center in the Colorado Plateau-Four Corners area of Boulder, Utah.
Boulder, Utah (population 225) is situated among some of the most awesome features of the natural world in North America, including nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park and Capital Reef. Boulder is 28 miles northeast of the town of Escalante; 82 miles southeast of Hanksville and the Canyonlands National Park; 186 miles from Arches National Park; and 247 miles from Salt Lake City.
Boulder is located at the top of the map below:
In 1875, Professor Almon Thompson of the second Powell expedition named Boulder after the nearby mountain, which is part of the Aquarius Plateau. Cattle ranching began in 1879. A five-hour drive north of Page, Arizona, Boulder remained isolated, except for pack trains and horses, until the Civilian Conservation Corps built a road that could be used by wagons and automobiles.
The approach to Boulder is across mile upon mile of barren canyon ridgelines. Finally, far below, one can begin to see the edge of a long flat valley that contains the ranching and farm community of Boulder. From the last high point above Boulder, before descending, the community presents itself. Sandstone ridges mark the edges of the long valley.
The Boulder, Utah Post Office, serving 225 residents.
In a quietly spectacular manner, Boulder is very, very removed from contemporary America, and therefore, an ideal location for student self-reflection, among its many other unique characteristics.
Within the town of Boulder is the Anasazi Indian State Park and Museum, with traces of the largest Anasazi village west of the Colorado River. A small portion of the village has been excavated and is available for study. New digs are scheduled.
Don Montoya, with interns, is of Taos origins. He spent over 20 years in the high tech industry, acquired a masters in anthropology, and now heads the Anasazi Indian State Park and Museum in Boulder, which has excellent research facilities.
Along nearby Calf Creek there is much evidence of a cluster of ancient settlements. Looking carefully at the bottom of the far canyon wall, one can just make out one of the most extraordinary and symbolically powerful pictographs in Fremont rock art.
